Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies. Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

It’s a miracle! The Phillies have won 5 consecutive games! So I learned many things at today’s Phillies game. First, this team can actually win games. Next, Jonathan Papelbon has a tramp stamp and Odubel Herrera can fly.

And finally, getting hit in the face with a ball hurts. Sean O’Sullivan does not recommend it. Perhaps next time, catcher Cameron Rupp will wait to toss the ball until someone is actually paying attention? Just a thought.

Aside from that little once every several decades incident, O’Sullivan had a great day. He pitched 6 scoreless innings and earned his first major league win since the 2011 season. And he was finally healthy; until, of course, Rupp whacked him in the face. But he seemed to be okay afterwards.

Ben Revere led the offense with 3 hits, a walk and an RBI; he is starting to look like the guy who almost won a batting title last year. And Maikel Franco has certainly added some excitement the Phillies line-up. In addition to a triple, he hit his first major league home run today. Darin Ruf also homered and had 2 hits. And even Ryan Howard helped out with a pinch-hit single in the 7th.

Obviously, this team needed a spark and maybe Franco is that guy. Although, I still think Cody Asche got a raw deal being sent to the minors to “learn” left field. He could have done that just as easily here. That brings us to the most awkward part of the day; the Asche whiffle ball and bat set that was handed out to kids entering the gates today. Too bad Cody had to miss it.

And now for the O-M-G moment of the day: After the game, Chad Billingsley was put on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder. So after two elbow surgeries and only 3 starts with the Phillies, Billingsley could well be done. Hector Neris has been recalled to take his place on the roster.

Well, it is official. This is the worst start to a season that the Phillies have had since the 10-22 start in 1997. Today’s loss to the Mets gives the Phils an 11-21 record, which is spectacularly awful. They have been bad in all areas; pitching, offense and defense. Even the bullpen, which was supposed to be the highlight of this team, has been sub-par.

But just to keep us watching, there are a few glimmers of hope here and there; but none of them long-lived. When pitcher Chad Billingsley smashed a solo homer today in the 3rd inning, the small crowd exploded. While it was very exciting, Billingsley crushed the celebratory atmosphere in the top of the 4th by giving that run back to the Mets, who continued to score until Billingsley was finally pulled in the 6th.

Even with the 1-5 deficit, the Phillies kept pushing for a comeback. A string of hits in the 7th inning brought the Phillies to within 1 run of the Mets. But Jeanmar Gomez proceeded to give the Mets 2 more runs in the 8th. The 4-7 hole was one the Phillies meager offense simply could not climb out of.

Here are some burning questions I would like answers to. Why does Ryan Howard insist on first-pitch swinging in critical situations? Is he giving Darrin Ruf lessons? If so, he should stop. Will Ben Revere invent a new outfield spot, since he has already played all 3 current spots this season? Maybe Ryne Sandberg could move him to the outfield stands next just to be annoying? Revere could catch all the home runs this staff keeps giving up. Next, has the bat boy quit? Because Odubel Herrera was seen shagging fouls and discarded balls from the dugout throughout the game. And finally, how much worse will this team get? Oh wait, maybe don’t answer that one…

On a lighter note, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there! Darrin Ruf’s mom, dad and wife joined him on the field before the game, which was a bright spot of the day.Here is the full Photo Album from today’s game.

On Friday night, the Braves committed 4 errors, allowing the Phillies to squeak out a 1-0 win. Then after a loss on Saturday, the Phillies collected another win today, which was in part thanks to another unearned run gifted to them from the Braves.

The bigger story though in today’s game was the pitching of Jerome Williams. He hung in there for 6 2/3 adventurous innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. By keeping the damage to a minimum, Williams also kept the Phillies in line for the 5-4 win.

The Phillies had a few missed opportunities in the field, but for the most part, they played a clean game. In fact, the even laid down 3 successful sacrifice bunts, two of which were by Williams.

Freddy Galvis is still on fire. With 3 hits in this game, his average is up to .361. And Ryan Howard seems to be ready to climb out of the major funk he has been in. Howard actually got through a game without a strike out and also hit a 3-run homer.

And although Jonathan Papelbon came close to blowing the save, he managed to claw his way to 3 outs in the 9th. So the Phillies got a win for the Phanatic on his birthday. He must be one happy green Galapagos monster today!

By the way, has anyone else noticed that since the Phillies began going downhill after 2011 that the Phanatic’s birthday cake has gotten significantly smaller? I guess the decreased attendance is taking its toll…lolAs for the rest of us, it was nice to see a series win after what has been a very rough start to the season. Tomorrow begins a 4-game series with the Cardinals at 8:15pm. The Cards are in first place in their division with 12 wins. The Phillies are in last place with 12 losses. This should be interesting…

Despite their struggles, the Phillies actually had a good shot at sweeping the Nationals today to end the 3-game series. But they apparently had one thing working against them: Ryan Howard. I hate to be so blunt about it, but Howard absolutely stunk up the ballpark today. He struck out to end an inning 4 times, all with runners on base; and 3 of those 4 times, he had runners in scoring position. One would think after more than 10 years in the majors, he would learn to stop swinging at balls in the dirt; no such luck. Howard is now batting .150 only 6 games into the season.

But on to more positive things… Sean O’Sullivan got the spot start today and rewarded the Phillies for their confidence in him. O’Sullivan lasted 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk. Overall, he looked good and kept the team in the game.

Odubel Herrera, the rookie Rule 5 pick, continues to wow fans with his speed and hustle. After hitting the walk-off winner in last night’s game for his first major league hit, Herrera collected 2 more hits today plus an RBI and a stolen base.

Cody Asche also had another great game with 3 hits, an RBI and a walk, putting veterans like Howard to shame. Asche is batting .429. Eventually, Darren Ruf replaced Howard in the game and began with a home run in the 7th to put the Phillies in a 2-2 tie, just like the night before.

But unlike Saturday’s game, the Phillies could not come back in extra innings to win. Although, they never stopped trying, which was nice to see. Even after the bullpen allowed 2 runs in 10th, the Phillies scored in the bottom of the inning and then fell just short of the win, losing by a score of 3-4.

So there have been several encouraging signs to start the season, even though overall, this team is probably not going far with the youth they have and the dried up veterans. But it was a good game with some energy, which the Phillies have been missing the last several years.

Also, I just want to give kudos to pitcher Jerome Williams. Going back to last year, Williams is always out engaging with the fans and signing autographs, unlike most of the players. Today, he even scooped up what appeared to be a 3 or 4 year old fan out of the stands and played catch with him. He then literally picked the kid up and handed him back to his parents. It is a rarity to see a major league player truly appreciate his position and give back to the fans to consistently. The Phillies are lucky to have him!

So the team is off to New York for an early game tomorrow against the Mets. Cole Hamels will pitch and the game starts at 1:10pm.

There were a few signs of life from the Phillies in last night’s 4-2 win over the Red Sox. First, the fact that they won after a 0-8 beat down in the home opener is encouraging. Second, pitcher Aaron Harrang dominated the Red Sox line-up. No one was really sure what to expect from Harrang after a spring that seemed to be riddled with back issues. But through 6 1/3 scoreless innings, Harrang proved he is ready to go.

Jeff Francoeur also had something to prove after spending nearly all of last year languishing the Padres minor leagues. He gave the Phillies their first runs of the season with a 3-run homer in the 6th inning. If Francoeur can continue to find some of his old, Braves-days magic, he could see some descent playing time.

Another good sign was the speedy Ben Revere, who turned a Sox error into 3 bases in the 7th inning. His hustle led to a run after Chase Utley hit a sac fly. And Carlos Ruiz had 2 hits on the day batting 2nd, which is also nice to see.

The one not-so-great sign was Ken Giles. He was all over the place pitching in the 8th inning. Giles gave up a hit and 3 walks, which accounted for both Red Sox runs. After he walked a run home, manager Ryne Sandberg finally went out to get him and let Jonathan Papelbon earn a 4-out save against his old team. Giles had some soreness in spring training. His speed is down and his control is missing. One has to wonder how healthy he is.

Tonight, David Buchanan gets his first start after a very encouraging spring. Game time is 7:05pm.

On Opening Day this past Monday, the Phillies got trampled by the Red Sox in a 0-8 loss in front of what will probably be the only sell-out crowd they will see this season. Well, at least the pre-game activities were fun as usual.

One thing we learned from the ceremonies was that Jonathan Papelbon thinks Phillies fans have cooties, as witness by his gloved hands in the pre-game entrance:

The next time a fan runs into Pap, they should fake sneeze on him for fun. If anyone gets the opportunity, please let me know…thanks!

The only other real highlight of the day was seeing our old buddy, Shane Victorino. He got a standing ovation before his first at bat, which was well deserved.

And then the day went downhill from there. Cole Hamels was awful; he could not hit any of his spots and the Red Sox wasted no time taking him yard. Hamels allowed 4 home runs in only 5 innings, two of which came off the bat of super mini-sized ball player, Dustin Pedroia. He is little and adorable, I’ll give him that. But he seriously needs to stop beating up on the poor, defenseless Phillies who are clearly in awe of his short stature.

However, the smallest thing in the stadium on this day was the Phillies offense. They were no-hit through 3 innings and then only managed 3 hits total for the whole game.

Jake Diekman got beat up as well; he gave up a Grand Slam to Hanley Ramirez who also had 2 homers in the game. If this performance is a taste of what is to come, it is going to be a long season. Buckle in Phillies fans…the next game is Wednesday night at 7:05pm.

Well it wasn’t pretty, but the Phillies did beat the Pirates in two exhibition games this weekend. Friday’s game was damp and icky and today was WINDY and cold. When I say windy, I mean the kind of wind that sends 5 giant trash cans at once hurdling across Ashburn Alley without warning. At one point, I actually had to stop and hold on to something. It was that bad. And the players on the field had fun avoiding all of the floating debris.

The Phillies also had to avoid many, many bad pitches from the Bucos starter, Charlie Morton. This guy was all over the place. In the first inning, he was so bad that the game was stopped; I am not sure if it was to warn the managers or if the Pirates thought he was hurt, but both managers were spoken to. The Phillies wound up scoring 4 runs in the inning after Morton hit 2 batters, walked 3 and threw 1 wild pitch (at least, officially it was 1). Needless to say, there was a lot of dancing at the plate.

After scoring 2 more runs in the 2nd, the Phillies sort of went to sleep. I, however, could not sleep, as I was freezing and being pelted in the face by 50mph wind gusts. Although this did not seem to faze pitcher David Buchanan. He pitched a scoreless 5 innings, allowing 2 hits and 2 walks. The effort paid off as the Phillies announced that Buchanan will be the #3 starter behind Cole Hamels and Aaron Harrang.

So the Phillies went on to win by a score of 6-4, ending their Spring Training with 14 wins. Overall, it was a pretty bad spring with sloppy play and a serious lack of offense. But none of it counts, so on Monday, we will see what this team has in store for us this season. There are a lot of new faces and people playing new positions, so at the very least, it should not be too boring….I hope.

Cliff Lee is hoping that the third time for rehab is a charm; more likely, it will be three strikes and he is out. Lee has had a torn common flexor tendon since last May, although prior reports on that called it a “strain,” which I am guessing was never the case. Tears generally do not heal themselves; it can happen, but it is highly unlikely, especially on the elbow. So this third attempt at rehab is probably a waste of time and energy.

I feel bad for Lee. He obviously wants to pitch again, but then why did he not have the surgery in the first place? He at least could have been ready for this year. Now, that chance is gone. Of course, no one wants to have surgery, so I understand to some extent. I guess there is no right or wrong answer, but personally, I’d have had it fixed last year.

I was there for Lee’s first pitch as a Phillie on 7/31/09 in San Francisco. And now it looks like I may have seen his last pitch. I suppose a miracle could occur, but I am not holding my breath. It is a very sad day. Not that I expect the Phillies to do very well this year, but at least Lee was entertaining to watch. He gave fans something to look forward to on an otherwise bland and rebuilding team.

So who is left to pitch besides Cole Hamels and Jerome Williams? The newly signed Aaron Harang has back issues, so I am not optimistic about him. And Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez is looking like a $12 million dollar bust. He has a nice fastball, but lacks control. Speed is of no use if he doesn’t know how to use it. I am rooting for Chad Billingsley to make the rotation in late April, but coming off two elbow surgeries, there is no telling what will happen. There are a lot of young arms like David Buchanan and Jonathan Pettibone who may make the cut.

Now we just wait and see. In the meantime, I wish Cliff Lee the best and hope he will get his miracle.

The deconstruction of the Phillies continues as they have now shipped Marlon Byrd to the Reds in exchange for minor league pitcher Ben Lively. The Phillies will pay part of Byrd’s $8 million salary to complete the deal, but no specifics were given. While Byrd struck out a lot last year, he was one of the few power bats in the lineup, hitting 25 homers and collecting 85 RBI. However, at 37 years of age, the Phillies figured getting younger in the outfield was a good move.

Lively, 22, went 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA between class A and AA ball last season. He was also named the Reds’ minor league player of the year. So it does appear this was a good move for the Phillies, although the payoff is probably years away as Lively continues working in the minors.

This move also means we will have at least one more year of Domonic Brown to endure. In my opinion, the Phillies should have traded him years ago when he was actually worth something. The only thing he has proved over the last several seasons is that he is inconsistent at the plate and a defensive liability in the outfield. In fact, the Sporting News ranked him as the worst left fielder in all of baseball last year. Well, at least he came first in something😉

The Phillies, however, may not be done moving pieces around. There are still many, many Cole Hamels rumors and certainly, a lot of room for improvement. Now, if only some team would get really desperate and take Ryan Howard off their hands. That is my New Year’s wish. I should probably make another, more likely wish, right?

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